Razor cleaning device



March 29, 1949. J. P. FLEcKENsTlNE 2,465,440

RAZOR CLEANING DEVI-GE Filed June 20, 1946 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 J. P. FLECKENSTINE RAZOR CLEANING DEVICE March 29, 1949.

2 Shees-Sheet 2 Filed Jun- 2o, 194e a lll Patented Mar. 29, 1949 UNITED STATES" PATENT OFFICE This invention relates to devices for cleaning and drying razor blades, and the embodiment of the invention herein shown is designated particularly for use with double edged blades. In my Patent No. 2,187,491, dated January 16, 1940, I have disclosed a razor cleaning device consisting of a pair of wiping or drying pads each composed of a layer of absorbent material, such as Canton flannel attached to a layer of stiffer backing material such as iiber board. The pads are secured face to face and arranged to permit a wet razor blade to be passed between them for drying contact with their absorbent surfaces. This is much more efficient and less dangerous than the common expedient of attempting to dry the blade with an ordinary towel and it avoids the damage to the towel which frequently results from that method.

The present invention is directed to increasing the convenience and eiciency of the drying device of my said patent.

G-ne object of the invention is to provide a substantial and durable case to serve as a holder for a pair of razor cleaning pads similar to those disclosed in my said patent.

Another object of the invention is to provide a new and improved razor cleaning device which includes a pair of absorbent pads and a holder in which said pads are disposed face to face and correctly spaced to receive a razor blade between them for wiping engagement therewith.

It is also an object of the invention to provide a razor cleaning device which includes a pair of absorbent pads and a holder in which said pads are disposed face to face and gripped to prevent dislodgment of the pads from the holder when a razor blade is passed between them.

A further object of the invention is to provide a new and improved holder for a pair of absorbent pads to be arranged face to face therein for wiping engagement with a razor blade to be passed between them, includingr in said holder blade guiding means which insures correct placement and entry of the blade between the pads in the holder.

An additional object of the invention is to provide a new and improved holder for a pair of absorbent pads to be secured therein face to face for -wiping engagement with a razor blade, and to include in said holder means for exerting special pressure on the pads in the vicinity of the margins of the blade as it passes between them to insure good wiping contact at the cutting edges of the blade.

Other objects and advantages of the invention 56 will appear from the following description taken in connection with the drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view showing a case embodying one form of the invention with absorbent pads installed therein;

Fig. 2 is a front elevational View of the device shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is an end elevation of the same;

Fig. 4 is a bottom plan view;

Fig. 5 is a vertical sectional view taken as indicated at line 5 5 on Fig. 2;

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary detail section taken as indicated at line 6-6 on Fig. 2;

Fig. 7 is a perspective view of a modified form of the invention with portions of the case and a portion of one of the absorbent pads broken away;

Fig. 8 is a fragmentary vertical section taken as indicated at line 8--8 on Fig. 7;

Fig. 9 is a top plan view oi the device shown in Fig. 7 but on a reduced scale;

Fig. 10 is a perspective view of the absorbent pads of the type for which the case shown in Fig. 7 is designed.

In my Patent No. 2,187,491 above mentioned, the razor blade drying and cleaning device was shown simply as a pair of absorbent pads, each provided with a backing member and secured together by a suitable adhesive at two opposite margins, leaving the remainder of the opposed areas of the absorbent members available to receive a razor blade between them. To facilitate the handling of such a device and to protect the pads when the device is not in use, the present invention provides a case I0, such as that shown in Figs. 1 to 6. y This case is preferably a unitary structre of relatively flat tubular form and may be die cast of suitable metal or may be molded of plastic material. As shown in Fig. 5, the front wall vI2 and the back wall I4 are spaced apart by a suitable distance to accommodate between them the absorbent pad I6 with its backing member I8 to= which it is adhesively secured, and the absorbent pad 20 with its backing member 22 to which it is also adhesively secured. Along their upper edges the pads and their respective backing members are bound together by strips of waterproof tape preferably made of moisture proof cellulose acetate. This prevents the edges of the absorbent material of the pads I6 and 20 from being exposed at these marginal portions of the pads between which the razor blade is entered for its wiping engagement with the opposing absorbent faces.

Before insertion in the case l0, the two absorbent pads with their backing members are secured together as a unit by suitable adhesive which connects them at two opposite margins, leaving the upper margins which are covered by the tapes 24 substantially unattached and leaving the opposite lower margins also unconnected. This assembled unit or filler is then slidably inserted into the tubular case I from the open lower end thereof. At the upper end the front fall I2 has an inturned lip 26 serving as a stop for the pad I6, and its backing member I8 and the back wall I4 has a similar inturned lip 28 serving as a stop for the upper edges of the pad 20 and its backing member 22. The pad 20 is slightly higher-than the pad I6 so that its taped upper margin projects above the taped upper edge of the pad I6 and facilitates inserting the end of a razorblade between the pads in position to be passed through the device in wiping contact with their opposing absorbent faces. The total height of the device .is less than the length of a blade so that as the advancing end of the blade emerges from the :lower end of the case I0, it can be grasped and withdrawn.

As shown in Fig. 4, the inner surfaces of the .walls I2 and I4 of the tubular case I0 are prowhen such avblade A is presented vto the upper end of the case I0 in theposition shown in Fig. 2 and is then pushed through the case between the opposing faces of the .pads I6 and 2,0, these faces ,will be held most rmly in contact with-the marginal portions of the blade adjacent its cutting edges so as toinsure thorough drying of the blade surfaces at these areas. The case I0 can be die cast or molded with sufficient accuracy to provide uniform spacing between the opposing ribs 30 with a tolerancenot exceeding .005 of an inch so as to insure proper engagement of the pad with a blade of standard thickness.` The resilience of the absorbent material, however, will be sufficient to accommodate blades which differ slightly in thickness from those which may be considered standard.

Adjacent to the narrow side walls 32, 32 vof the oase I0, the ribs 34, which project ,from the inner surfaces of the front wall I2 and back wall I4, areslightly higher than the ribs 30 so as-to grip the marginal portions of the pad assembly, oompressing it suiiiciently toinsure that the friction between the surface'of the blade and the absorbent pads will not dislodge the pad structure from the case as the blade is passed through it. To facilitate entry `of the pad assembly through the lower end of the case, the lower ends of these ribs 34 may be tapered divergently as shown in Fig. 6.

In the aforesaid Patent No. 2,187,491,` an alternative form of dryer is shown in whichvthe two pads are identical in area but have their taped margins spread apart slightly to form a mouth or entrance opening at which the end of the blade may be introduced between the pads. Figs. 7, 8 and 9 illustrate a slightly modified form of case 40 for use with this alternative type of drying unit. The general outlines of the case 4U are similar to those of case I0, except that its front wall 42 is equal in area to its back wall 44, and instead of mere lips or flanges at the upper ends of these walls, the case includes an integral top wall 46 having a slot 48 to receive the end of the razor blade. Fig. 10 shows a pad assembly or filler unit consisting of a front panel 50 and a back panel 52, each composed of an absorbent layer and a stiiening layer, as in the structure shown in Fig. 5, and each having a tape 54 applied as a binding over its upper edge. The middle portions of the upper edges of the panels 50 and 52 are bent outwardly at 56 forming between them the mouth or entrance opening 58. When this unit is inserted in the case 40, the opening 58 registers therein with the slot 48 in the top wall 46 in position to receive the end of a razor blade as it is passed through the device for wiping engagement with the absorbent surfaces of the pad panels 50 and 52. In Fig. 7, a portion of the front wall 42 is broken away to show the panel 50 and a portion of this panel is broken away revealing the absorbent surface of the panel 52 in operative position within the case 40.

To further insure the proper positioning of the mouth 58 of the unit within the case 40, the top wall 46 is provided with depending lips or flanges 60 and 62 which respectively engage the upper edges of the pad panels 50 and 52 to insure that the spaced portions 56, 56 of these parts shall rem-ain separated and shall be held at opposite sides of the slot 48. At each end of the guideway or finder slot 48, the opening in the top wall 46 is continued in the form of narrow slots 49, the end portions of the slot 48 being tapered at 5I to merge with the narrower slots 49. This insures kedgeswill not tend to shear .away the` surface bers of the absorbent pads, and with the centering and guiding eifect ofthe entrance yslot 48 and mouth 58, this result is practically assured. However,'the width of the pads is such that a slightly angular position of the blade with relation to its direction of movement is, not preventedand will not result in any injury to its cutting edges. To further assist the user in properly entering the blade at the slot 48, an upstanding guide flange 64 may be provided at one 4side of the slot 48 as shown in Fig. 7 and 8, the face of this flange 64 functioning in substantially the same manner as the extra height of the pad 20 in the form shown in Fig. 5. The interior of the case 40 may include ribs 66 arranged to hold the .pads 50 and 52 in close engagement with a blade passed between them, but in view of the flared upper portions of the pads formingfthe mouth 58, the ribs 66 may terminate ata distance below the end wall 46 of the case. Additional ribs 68 may be provided adjacent to the narrow side walls 43 as indicated 'in dotted outline in Fig. 7. AThe lower` ends of the case 40 will be made open over its entire cross section like the lower end of the case I0 to permit insertion of a pair of pads 50 and 52 or withdrawal of the pads when they require replacement.

While there are shown and described herein certain structures embodying my invention, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited thereto or thereby, but embraces all modifications, variations and equivalents which may come within the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A blade cleaning device comprising, in combination, a nat tubular case open at one end. said case having a wall at the opposite end with a slot in said wall, and a pair of wiping pads in said case, each pad comprising a layer of absorbent material, a stiffening layer adhesively secured thereto, and a. binding strip overlapping both layers at one edge, said pads being disposed in the case with their absorbent surfaces in face to face relation and with their bound edges adjacent to said slot in position to receive a blade between them, said c-ase having an upstanding guide flange vprojecting from the end wall, said flange having a surface continuous with one edge of said slot to facilitate entry of a blade therein.

2. A device of the class described, comprising a iiat tubular case having relatively wide front and back w-alls and relatively narrow side walls joining them, said case being open at both ends but including inwardly extending abutment means at one end to limit the insertion of drying pads from the other end of the case, said front and back Walls of the case having mutually opposed ribs extending longitudinally and projecting from their inner surfaces, said ribs being dimensioned to eng-age said pads between them, two of said ribs on each wall being disposed adjacent said side walls respectively and being higher than the other ribs for gripping the marginal portions of the pads between them.

3. In a device as dened in claim 2, each pair of higher ribs adjacent the side wall of the case having tapered, divergent end portions at the open end of the case to facilitate entry of the pads between said ribs.

4. A blade cleaning device comprising, in combination, a at tubular case open at one end, said case having a wall at the opposite end with a slot in said wall, a pair of wiping pads in said case, each pad comprising a layer of absorbent material, a stiffening layer adhesively secured thereto, and a binding strip overlapping both layers at one edge, said 4pads being disposed in the case with their absorbent surface in face to face relation and with their bound edges adjacent to said slot in position to receive a blade therebetween, said case having inwardly extending lianges at both sides of said slot to engage said pads at their bound edges' and insure separation of said edges of the pads in the vicinity of the slot.

JOSEPH P. FLECKENSTINE.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the iile of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,956,743 Lifton May 1, 1934 1,978,716 Morehouse Oct. 30, 1934 2,094,722 Sanford Oct. 5, 1937 2,187,491 Fleckenstine Jan. 16, 1940 

